Obama signs ban on public funding of presidential campaigns into law

[grahamhgreen]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/04/obama-act-public-funding-signs-aw

A ban on public funding of presidential conventions was quietly signed into law by Barack Obama on Thursday in a move that could further increase the dependency of US political parties on wealthy donors.

A day after the supreme court removed aggregate limits on how much wealthy individuals can spend supporting candidates, the White House agreed to enact legislation dismantling what was left of an alternative public financing model set up after the Watergate scandal.

US taxpayers could previously elect to earmark $3 (pdf) each year to help support presidential candidates, primaries and conventions in a bid to reduce their reliance on donors, but the amount spent has dwindled in recent years as parties increasingly ignore the subsidies on offer because they require agreeing to some limits on overall spending.

[leftyohiolib]

1. who are u, the onion?

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Did you read the article?

Just wondering.

[frazzled]

3. Funds for political conventions, not campaigns

Please do not read The Guardian for the final word on US political or other news. They're as thick about our system as we are about theirs. Plus, they need to fire the headline writer.